Apply Vietnam Visa Yourself vs Agency

If you are weighing whether to apply Vietnam visa yourself vs agency, the short version is this: applying yourself on evisa.gov.vn is the cheapest option at US$25, and it suits most travelers with two weeks or more before the flight. An agency costs more but checks your form, offers faster speeds and refunds you if you are refused. Visa on arrival is a third route, and it only works if you fly in.

We are an agency, so we have tried to make this comparison fair, including the cases where you do not need us. If you have already decided on a service, you can apply for a Vietnam e-visa online here.

Three ways to get a Vietnam visa:

Prices last checked on 2026-10-11.

The rest of this page explains each row, starting with the plain answer to the question most people arrive with.

Apply Vietnam visa yourself vs agency: the short answer

Apply yourself if you have time, your passport details are straightforward and you are comfortable with an English-language government form. Use an agency if the flight is close, you are applying for several people, or you want someone to check the form and answer questions.

There is no hidden advantage to using an agency for approval itself. The decision is made by the Vietnam Immigration Department either way, on the same evisa.gov.vn system. If you choose to apply yourself, use evisa.gov.vn and make sure you are on the right address: our guide to the official website shows how to tell it apart from look-alike sites.

What each option costs

At Standard speed, a single-entry, 1-month e-visa costs $25 if you apply yourself and $47 through us. That is a $22 difference, and the price with us already includes the government fee.

Looking at a Vietnam visa agency vs evisa.gov.vn for faster speeds, the gap grows, because the government site has no paid fast option and agencies charge more for speed. With us, 3 working days costs $69 and the Last-Minute Emergency speed costs $260 for a single entry. Our full e-visa price table has every speed for single and multiple entry.

Two costs are easy to miss when you apply yourself. If a mistake leads to a refusal, the $25 is gone and you pay again. If you pay twice by accident during a slow checkout, both payments may go through.

What an agency does that evisa.gov.vn does not

The government site processes what you enter. An agency's job is everything around that, and it should be clear about which parts it actually adds.

With us, that means:

• A check before submission. Staff compare your form with your passport scan and photo, which is where most refusals start.
• Speed choices. From Standard up to 1.5 working hours, plus a Weekend & Public Holidays option.
• A refund if refused. 100% of what you paid us, government fee included, unless the information you gave was wrong or incomplete.
• A refund if late. 100% if your e-visa arrives later than the estimated delivery time shown at checkout.
• A person to ask. WhatsApp, phone and email from 8:00 to 21:00 (GMT+7).

What an agency cannot do is change the decision or get around the rules. Any site that promises approval is making a promise it cannot keep.

Vietnam e-visa vs visa on arrival

For most trips the e-visa is the simpler choice, because you land with the visa already issued and it works at land and sea crossings too. A visa on arrival still has a place, but only if you fly in.

With visa on arrival, you get an approval letter from an agency before you travel, show it at check-in, and then collect the visa stamp at the airport after paying the stamping fee of $25 (single) or $50 (multiple). Our service covers Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Cam Ranh. It does not work at land border gates or seaports.

Some travelers still choose it because they are used to it, or because the letter can cover a group of up to 20 people in one order. If you cross into Vietnam by bus from Cambodia or arrive on a cruise, it is not an option.

Which option fits your trip

The right choice depends mostly on how many days you have before you fly and how you will enter Vietnam.

Two weeks or more before you fly

Apply yourself on evisa.gov.vn unless you would rather pay to have the form checked. You have time to fix a mistake and reapply if needed.

Less than a week

Use a paid speed. If you have not applied yet, our urgent Vietnam visa options start with Same day and go down to 1.5 working hours. If you already applied yourself and it is still pending, you can speed up a pending e-visa with the registration code instead of starting again.

Entering by land or sea

Get an e-visa, either yourself or through us. Visa on arrival is for airports only, so it will not help at a land border or a port.

If you are ready, you can start your application with us. VietnamVisa-Easy.com is a private visa service operated by H2 Global Travel JSC since 2012, not a government website. You can apply directly at evisa.gov.vn for US$25.